Closure for the domes of tank cars



Feb. 9, 1932. D. B. YOUNG 1,344,001

' CLOSURE FOR THE DOMES OF TANK CARS Fi led June 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet1 my H /6 15 k a0 /Am R a 4 k /.6 38 l0 H U z]; 20 Z7" i 24 W 26 I] 40INVENTOR. flavidfil'ou/n g,

A TTORNEYS Feb. 9, 1932. v naYuNG 1,844,001

CLOSURE FOR THE DOMES 0F TANK CARS Filed June 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2A TTORNEYJ Patented Feb. 9, 1932 PATENT. OFFICE DAVID YOUNG, orIAwnENcEvILLE, ILLINoIs, AssIGnon OFVONE-HALF ro LoUIs w. MAY, or NEWYORK, N. Y.

GLO SURE FOR THE DOMES OF TANK CARS Application filed June 14,

, tion, comparatively inexpensive to manufac- .ture and more eflicientin use than those which have been heretofore proposed. It is at presentthe common practlce 1n the filling of tank cars with hydrocarbonoils andthe like to run the car into-a fill ng rack or station where the coverof the dome is removed and a filling pipeintroduced through the domeopening, by means of which the oil .or other material is loaded into theinterior of the car. Thedome openings are ordinarily relatively large,say from fifteen to eighteen inches or more in diameter, whereas thefilling pipes commonly employed may range from say two to four inches indiam- 1 eter. The said pipes,therefore, occupy only arelatively smallpart of the dome opening, with the result that the oil in thecar isexposed more or less to the atmosphere, and in the case of the lighterhydrocarbons, suchas gasolene, benzine, naptha, and the like, an

appreciable amount is lost through evaporation. Extensive testsconductedby the U. S. Bureau of Mines have shown that in the loading of theaverage tank car as much as nine 7 or ten gallons of the: lighterhydrocarbons may be'lost through the evaporation-result- T ing from theexposure of the oils to the-outi side atmosphere and when itisaconside'red that hundreds of tankcars are filled each day it will bereadilyunderstood thatthis loss in quite a conv I instances the domeopenings 11 are provided the course of ayear amounts to siderable item.I I

It is one of 'theprimary objects of the present invention, therefore, toI provide 1 40 means whereby thisloss' maybe-prevented while at the sametime the filling of the cars will not be interfered with. It is afurther object of the invention to provide a temporary closure for theopenings of tank car domes, which closure is provided with means.

whereby the filling pipe may be introduced therethrough and also withmeans whereby ,the closuremay be readily secured in place over domeopemngs of various sizes and x characters.

1928. Serial No. 285,395.

' With the above and other objects-in view, which will appear as thedescription pro.- ceeds, the invention consists in-the novel details ofconstruction and combinations of part'smore fully hereafter disclosedand park ticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, in which like reference characters designate like partsin all the views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the upper portion of the tank cardome with a temporary filling closure constructedin accordance with thepresent inventionin place thereon. Y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central sectional View through the closure and aportion of. the dome.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the wall-engaging memberscarried by, the

closure which serve to readily secure thesaid vclosure 1n posltion overthe dome openings of various sizes and characters.

Fig. 4; is a top plan view of the closure constructed in accordance withthe pres'ent,invention, and

Fig. 5 is a bottom shown inFig. 4.

' In the said drawings numeral 10 indicates the dome of a tank car whichis provided with the dome opening 11 through which access may be had tothe interior of the car. These openings are normally closed by plates orother closure members secured in various ways, suchas by bolts passingthrough the" closure member and into the dome, or in some plan viewoft-he closure and shape to completely cover the dome opening 11 of anyof the standard tank cars now in general use. This plate 12 is providedwith an opening or aperture 13 extending there- 7 through,through whichthe filling pipe 14 isadapted to be introduced, as shown in Figs. 1, 2and 4. Suitable means are provided adjacent this opening 13 for securingthe filling pipe in position temporarily, such means being here shown ascomprising a pair of lugs 15 secured to the plate 12, which lugs areadapted to co-act with companion lugs 16 formed upon a ring member 17which is car ried by the filling pipe 14. The said filling pipe may beprovided with handle members 18 by means of which it may be manipulatedto bring the lugs 16 into and out of engagement with the lugs 15 throughpartial rotation of the pipe, as will be readily understood. In orderthat the closure plate 12 may be readily detachably secured over domeopenings of various sizes, whether they be threaded or not, said plateis provided with a plurality of wall-engaging members 20 which aremounted in suitable guideways 21 for sliding movement radially of thesaid plate. Cover plates 22 are secured to the guiding lugs 21 by bolts23 to retain the slidable members 20 in position, as will be readilyunderstood.

The outermost faces of the sliding members 20 are provided with screwthreads 24 which are adapted to engage with the threads of the innerwall of the dome opening 11 if such opening be threaded, or if it is notthreaded, then with the plane surface of said wall as clearly shown inFig. 2. The inner ends of the sliding members 20 are preferablybifurcated, as shown and have rollers 25 journaled therein on suitablepins or shafts 26, see Figs. 2 and 3. The said rollers 25 are receivedin angularly disposed cam slots 27 provided in an actuating disk ormember 28 which is journaled by means of a rigid stud or shaft 29 in theplate 12. The said stud or shaft projects through the said plate and isprovided at its upper or outer end with an operating handle 30 rigidlysecured thereto as by the pin 31. Said stud or shaft 29 is threadedbelow the said handle 30 as at 32, to receive a nut or member 33, whichmay be provided with a handle 34 by means of'which it may be adjusted,as will be readily understood, to lock the disk 28 in operativeposition. i

The closure plate 12 is preferably provided .with one or more sightglasses 35; with suitable handles or projections 36 by means of which itmay be lifted; and with a suitable relief valve 37 through which air mayescape during the filling of the car. A suitable gasket or packingmember 38 is preferably interposed between the plate 12 and the uppersurface of the dome 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The manner of using the temporary filling closure will be readilyapparent from the foregoing, but may be briefly summarized as follows:When an empty tank car is to be filled with hydrocarbon oils or othersimilar materials, the car is run to the filling rack as hereillustrated is then place-d in position over the dome opening 11 and issecured in [0 place on the domethrough manual operation of the handle 30which serves to move the disk 28 through the arc of a circle, whichmovement will, through the action of the inclined slots 27 upon therollers 25, cause the slidable members 20 to be moved radially outwardso that their serrated outer faces 24!: will be brought into engagementwith the inner wall 40 of the dome opening 11, thereby securelyfastening the closure in place. If this said wall be threaded thethreads: 24 of the members 20 will interlock with the threads of thedome opening, or if the latter be plain, as shownin Fig. 2, the threadsofthe members 20 will merely engage the plain wall, as will be readilyunderstood, in either instance securely locking the closure in position.The filling pipe 14L is then introduced through the opening 13 andlocked by partial rotation which serves to bring the lugs 16 carried bythe pipe beneath the lugs 15 carried by the plate 12, as shown in Figs.2 and 4. The ring 17, which carries the lugs 16,

serves to close and pack the space between- In actual practice it hasbeen found that the use of these temporary filling closures effectuallyreduces, and in fact substantially eliminates the loss of volatilehydrocarbons during the filling operationand as above pointed out, suchelimination results in a -material lsjaving and conservation. of suchhydrocarons.

While one form of the invention has been illustrated and described it isobvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction as well as the arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention and therefore it is not wished to be limitedto the above disclosure, except as may be required by the claim.

What is claimed is z A temporary closure for the openings of tank cardomes, comprising a substantially flat plate adapted to be positionedover and to extend beyond the edges of the opening; radithe perimeter ofsaid plate; means for moving said members inwardly and outwardly,comprising a stud passing through and journalled in said plate and a camdisk carried thereby operatively engaging with said members; meanswhereby said stud may be oscillated; and means for clamping said studanddisk against said plate, whereby said members may be locked in operativepositions.

In testimony whereof I afllx my signature.

DAVID B. YOUNG.

